Firdale Village Break-In: Arrested Burglars Need to Work on Their Radio Chatter

Suspected burglars relying on technology to help them commit a crime discovered that that same technology ultimately led to their arrests.

On Wednesday morning at about 3 a.m., Edmonds Police Department officers responding to a burglary alarm at a commercial business in the 9600 block of Firdale Avenue discovered that the back window of the business had been smashed out.

One Edmonds officer saw a suspicious man walking away from the area and called him over. When talking to him, the officer noticed that the man, later identified as a 30-year-old Brier resident, carried a portable two-way radio. The officer soon overheard two or three males voices talking about the Edmonds PD’s arrival on the scene.

The Edmonds officer also noted that the suspicious subject had a cell phone operating in stopwatch mode.  The elapsed time displayed on the man’s stopwatch corresponded with the same time that had passed since the burglary occurred.

While the Edmonds officer was talking to the suspicious man, a Lynnwood Police K-9 team was tracking away from the scene of the burglary. Not surprising to the Edmonds officer, the police dog tracked right to the suspicious subject carrying the portable radio.

The man was taken into police custody.

Two other suspects, a 27-year-old Edmonds man and a 31-year-old Lynnwood man, were also captured on foot a short distance away. All three men were arrested for commercial burglary with criminal charges pending.

Through the course of this investigation police have also identified a fourth suspect believed to be involved in the crime. The remaining suspect has not yet been taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing.